The Mehler Trans-Alp tent is a compact, light-weight tent designed to be held in place with the help of a mountain bike. As a result of the tent has no poles, it’s supported by a mountain bike which is pushed into the middle of the tent and held in place with three staked-down pointers.
Watch the video under to get my ideas on this distinctive tent:
Advantages Of This Tent:
The Mehler Trans-Alp has a variety of issues going for it. To begin with, the tent is extraordinarily compact and light-weight when put next with most different tents of the identical measurement. The dimensions and weight of this tent is decreased by 1) eradicating the necessity for poles and a pair of) eradicating the exterior rainfly discovered on most fashionable tents. What this implies, nevertheless, is that the bicycle MUST be used with a purpose to maintain the tent in place, and condensation generally is a primary concern, as the shortage of a rainfly means there’s a high-chance of condensation construct up if you get contained in the tent.
The opposite huge advantage of this tent is it’s spaciousness. Whereas the tent is somewhat small when inside it’s stuff sack, the Trans-Alp is sort of giant as soon as it’s arrange. You could possibly simply match two individuals inside this tent, or have one individual sleeping on one facet of the tent and a complete lot of drugs on the opposite facet. The tent is lengthy sufficient to suit somebody who measures no less than 6 ft 6 inches in size and even a tall individual like myself (I’m 6 foot 1 inch tall) might sit up contained in the tent and really feel completely comfy. This can be a function not seen in lots of different light-weight tents of this measurement.
Drawbacks Of This Tent:
Whereas the general thought behind this tent is a enjoyable one, it’s total development is poorly executed.
My first primary concern with this tent is the fabric it’s made out of. It’s a low-quality cloth with low-quality stitching. When putting the tent again in it’s stuff sack for the very first time, I ripped the stitching on the stuff sack and immediately ruined it. Because the stuff-sack is made out of the identical cloth because the tent itself, this can be a dangerous signal for the standard of the tent itself.
Different smaller issues with the tent embody its want for therefore many tent stakes (11 to be actual), its lack of a rain-fly and inside air flow, and the truth that bicycle pedals want tent to whack you if you do lastly crawl contained in the tent.
The most important drawback with this tent’s design, nevertheless, is he incontrovertible fact that you must decrease your bicycle’s seat put up each single day with a purpose to use the tent. Whereas decreasing your seat put up each day won’t appear to be that huge of a deal, if you’re something like me, you’ll be able to work for days to get your seat put up into simply the appropriate place. When you get your seat/saddle match excellent, the very last thing you wish to do is transfer it round and spoil all of the laborious work you’ve simply put into positioning your seat/saddle appropriately. For me, that is the #1 purpose to not use this tent.
Whereas the concept behind this tent is attention-grabbing, it’s a low high quality product with a below-average design. I might not advocate this tent and don’t plan on utilizing it for any sort of significant bike tour (though I’d use it for brief in a single day adventures close to my residence).
My Total Score: 3 Out Of 10
Evaluate Standing: This tent was despatched to Bicycle Touring Professional without charge for the aim of this overview.
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